A Will County judge ruled Tuesday that a Frankfort mother charged with first-degree murder in the death of her 2-year-old son will remain incarcerated as her case progresses, rejecting a request from defense attorneys that she instead be allowed to voluntarily commit herself for inpatient psychiatric treatment.
Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak said there was no combination of conditions she could impose on pretrial release that would alleviate the danger 40-year-old Corie Walsh potentially posed to her surviving three children, her husband and to other children in the community.
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Walsh’s lawyers did not deny that Walsh was the one who killed her son, Barrett Walsh, on Sept. 1, but said that she was suffering from sudden-onset acute psychosis and lacked any intent or forethought.
“Is this first-degree murder? Not by any stretch of the imagination,” defense attorney Robert Kerr said. “Corie was in a state of psychosis when she harmed her child.”
Barrett was found hanging from a ligature in the basement of the Walsh home, prosecutors said, and preliminary autopsy results indicated he had died of asphyxia. Walsh was found cutting her wrists and thighs open in an upstairs bathroom, prosecutors said.
Kerr described Walsh as “a loving and doting mother.” Walsh and her mother had been planning a family trip to Disneyland since January, Kerr said, and Walsh had been particularly excited for Barrett to see Mickey Mouse and Bluey, since his speech had been delayed and the names of the characters had been his first words.
“She discussed with her mother on the day of this incident how excited she was,” Kerr said.
Kerr said Walsh was fully supported by her family, and said some family members were in the courtroom Tuesday. Others, including Walsh’s husband and mother, were absent because they were attending Barrett’s funeral, he said.
“They asked that I express to the court their unwavering love and support for Corie,” Kerr said.
Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Tricia McKenna called Walsh “a danger to herself and others.”
Walsh had claimed to have killed her three other children, who in reality were all unharmed, and also expressed intent to kill her husband, who was out of state at the time, McKenna said.
“The defendant made statements as well that she intended to harm her husband once he arrived home, that she intended to poison him with a drink,” McKenna said.
Prior to Barrett’s death, Walsh had discussed the high-profile Lindsay Clancy case — in which a Massachusetts mother was charged with killing her three children before attempting suicide — with friends via group text, McKenna said. The Clancy case ended in a mistrial Friday.
Walsh had initially been convinced that Clancy’s then-husband, Patrick Clancy, had been the one to kill the couple’s three children, before later changing her mind, McKenna said.
“She had believed that the defendant in that case’s husband, initially, was responsible for committing the offense,” McKenna said.
Kerr rejected any characterization of Walsh as a Clancy copycat, calling the depiction “not only cruel but ignorant” and accusing the detectives in the case of focusing disproportionately on that angle of investigation.
“Routinely, the detectives, in nearly every interview, mention this line of questioning,” Kerr said. “‘Did Corie mention any court cases? Did she say anything about Lindsay Clancy?'”
During the four days Walsh was hospitalized before being transferred to the Will County jail on Friday, Kerr said, she was evaluated by psychiatrists who recommended immediate inpatient psychiatric treatment.
“These are locked facilities,” Kerr said. “They are designed to minimize the risk of elopement.”
Kerr said that while Walsh did potentially pose a threat to others, including to her surviving children, that threat could be mitigated through voluntary inpatient commitment and by blocking her from contact with her children and anyone else under 18.
The Will County jail is not equipped to provide the treatment that Walsh would require, Kerr argued, claiming she had not received psychotropic medication since being moved to the jail Friday. McKenna disagreed, saying the jail was capable of treating psychiatric patients and often did.
“I can’t make this decision out of compassion or empathy,” Bertani-Tomczak said before ordering Walsh detained.
Bertani-Tomczak said the Will County state’s attorney’s office would be responsible for ensuring that Walsh receives any necessary medication while incarcerated.
Prosecutors also asked Bertani-Tomczak to impose an order blocking any parties involved with the case from commenting to the media regarding topics including the merits of the case and Walsh’s character and mental state.
“If you walk out to the front of the courthouse today, there are media trucks all over the place,” Assistant State’s Attorney Peter Wilkes said, saying that the intent was to ensure the case did not turn into a “circus.”
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Walsh’s attorneys argued they had a right to make public statements to protect their client from a “substantial undue prejudicial effect.” Defense attorney Andrea Lyon released a brief statement Friday calling the incident a tragedy and saying that her client was suffering from a psychotic episode at the time of Barrett’s death.
“We are very aware that we’re not to try this case in the press,” Lyon said.
Bertani-Tomczak instructed the lawyers to adhere to the American Bar Association’s Rule 3.6, which limits what lawyers may say outside of court regarding ongoing litigation.
Walsh’s next court date is Sept. 24 at the Will County Courthouse in Joliet.